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Great American cockroaches, colloquially called "radroaches" or simply "giant cockroaches," are giant versions of the pre-War species that have increased in size due to mutation caused by the nuclear fallout of the Great War.

Radroaches are about the size of cats and have a shiny brown carapace. Unlike their modern-day cousins, they don't mind the sunlight and will often be encountered in well lit areas, such as out in the open near the tepid sewers. If encountered, they will first try to scare off their enemies by flapping their wings and antennae while bobbing up and down, but will attack if the enemy refuses to back away. This usually ends with their death, as they are one of the weakest enemies in-game.

Radroaches are low-level enemies, hostile to the player character. They are usually encountered in groups of 5-7 and "pounce" at their enemies and bite/pinch them with their small pincers while making a screeching sound. They are also commonly used as food for many people in the wasteland and as such their meat can be bought from most merchants who sell food.

Radroaches are one of the weakest creatures to come across in the wasteland, about on par with bloatflies for being the weakest enemies in the game.

Although most radroaches appear hostile, there are certain circumstances where they may be passive, such as the roaches in the vicinity of the Roach King.

Radroaches do not give out Experience Points unless the Lone Wanderer is playing on normal difficulty or higher, but even then it's only one experience point.

Using Unarmed in V.A.T.S. against a radroach will result in the player character stomping on it rather than punching it, the only time this animation is ever used.

The radroach is the first type of hostile creature the Lone Wanderer will encounter in Fallout 3, inside Vault 101 when he/she needs to kill one with a BB gun during the quest Growing Up Fast. It is also the only enemy type the Lone Wanderer needs to kill in order to complete the game as their is no known legitimate way around killing the radroach in Growing Up Fast.

Two undersized radroaches can be found in Vault 108's living quarters cafeteria accompanied by a regular radroach, one the size of Gallo's pets and another even smaller one.

It is popularly suggested that roaches will "inherit the earth" if humanity destroys itself in a global nuclear war, as roaches, along with other insects, have a higher tolerance to radiation than most other animals.